June 29, 2020 @ 11:53 PM

July fourth…is one of the nation’s favorite holidays to celebrate!  It is a time for family and friends to gather.  It's when BBQ’s are brought out and dusted off and bonfires are lit and hotdogs roasted.  Wonderful memories are created with friends and family as sparklers sparkle and fireworks display all their glory.   

Did you know this about July 4th?

  1. Eating Salmon and green peas on the fourth of July is a tradition in New England.
  2. The Beer Institute states that, "more beer is sold on and around the Fourth of July holiday than during any other time throughout the year." Generally, Americans will spend around $1 billion on beer for their Fourth celebrations, and more than $560 million on wine.
  3. The average age of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence was 45. The youngest was Thomas Lynch, Jr (27) of South Carolina.  The oldest delegate was Benjamin Franklin (70) of Pennsylvania. The lead author of The Declaration, Thomas Jefferson, was 33.
  4. The first Independence Day celebration took place in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776. This was also the day that the Declaration of Independence was first read in public after people were summoned by the ringing of the Liberty Bell.
  5. The Declaration of Independence was written on a Laptop,.... not a modern laptop, but still. Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence on a writing desk that could fit over one's lap. This device was referred to at the time as a "laptop." They were ahead of their time!
  6. Barbecue is big on Independence Day!  Approximately 150 million hot dogs and 700 million pounds of chicken are consumed on this day alone. According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, that amount of dogs can stretch from Washington D.C. to Los Angeles more than five times.
  7. According to American Pyrotechnics Association projection for 2019, "consumer fireworks revenues approached $1 billion" says Julie L. Heckman, Executive Director of the APA.
  8. Thomas Jefferson, 82, and John Adams, 90, both died on July 4, 1826 within five hours of each other on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence